Ruapehu sees the snow after the woe

Business was picking up on the mountain over the July school holidays. Photo / RAL

After a series of setbacks and dashed hopes, Mt Ruapehu has tentatively opened for the 2023 ski season, with “thousands” turning up over the school holidays.

This year has the potential to be the first undisrupted season for Whakapapa and Tūroa ski fields since 2019, after two years were impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, followed by a warm, wet washout in 2022.

Successive poor seasons saw Ruapehu Alpine Lifts placed into voluntary administration in October 2022. There was a light at the end of the tunnel in June this year after it was revealed there were two preferred bidders to take on the ski fields for a nominal $1 fee each.

That proved to be premature and those bids failed to attract the votes needed from creditors, plunging the company back into liquidation.

The Government stepped in at the eleventh hour with a $5 million loan to prop the business up through the winter, topping up an earlier $4m loan rescue package from the Government and ANZ which allowed the business to operate through the summer season.

This winter had been off to a bumpy start, with disruptions ranging from weather pausing lift operations to the State Highway 1 closures in the aftermath of last week’s truck crash at Bulli Point, between Taupō and Tūrangi.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts CEO Jono Dean said early snow has allowed the season to open in time for the earlier-than-usual July school holidays.

Both Tūroa and Whakapapa have been able to open their beginners’ areas, as well as some chairs for intermediate and advanced ski and snowboard access.

“We’re reasonably pleased with getting a good portion of the mountain up and running, and with the snowfall so far.”

“It’s been really well-timed in terms of getting people on the snow.”

The uncertainty over Mt Ruapehu’s opening doesn’t appear to have kept people away, and Dean said visitor numbers had been steady so far.

“People have turned up; there are thousands of people in the area at the moment.”

“There’s been plenty of kids and families learning to ski at Happy Valley.”

He said there was a lot to do, with several lifts still to open and the potential for more than 120 days of skiing across the long season.

Staff recruitment was still taking place, but this wasn’t unusual at this point in the year.

“We’ve still got roles open - that’s not uncommon over the season.

“We’re certainly in a recruitment phase at the moment.”

Season pass sales had also opened much later than usual due to the uncertainty around opening.

Sales opened on July 3 and will close at 5pm on July 17. Dean said uptake had been good so far.

“We’re pretty pleased with the interest.

“We encourage people to get in before that closes to ensure they don’t miss out.”